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The real fellowship begins after the Leadership Institutes and Summit. Once you attain the program alumnus status, life gets real.
As the virtual cohort, we had a couple more opportunities just for us. There were additional Professional Development Experiences (PDEs). By the way, I applied for both PDEs and I wasn’t selected to participate in any of the PDEs. This is what the journey looks like, you don’t win all.
If you recall from earlier posts, only 700 Fellows are selected out of more than 35,000 applicants. That’s quite a tall order but little did we know that further to this, our cohort of 700 Fellows would be trimmed to 200 Fellows who would go to the U.S. to participate in the Alumni Enrichment Institutes. This was truly Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible for me.
I applied anyway, with no expectation of being selected because how could I make the 200? In Zimbabwe, only 12 Fellows were going to be selected out of the initial 42, no way! Everyone is doing great things so why me, a tax accountant who doesn’t save lives or work on social impact projects. Even though I’ve written ‘why your work is important‘ it seemed not to matter when I looked at how others’ work had tangible impact (imposter syndrome at work).
But then God said why not you!
The day the selection email came, I jumped on my bed with excitement. I couldn’t believe it and I wasn’t even expecting to receive the email when it came through. But before we go to America (screams with my inside voice), here are some things I’ve been doing as a Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) alumnus or Fellow.
Projects
During the Leadership Institutes, I completed a ‘focus project’ plan. One of my focus project goals was to secure partnerships with at least five organisations that work with entrepreneurs for the implementation of a tax clinic. The tax clinic is a resource meant to provide low-cost professional tax services to low income businesses.
I successfully partnered with Simbiso Jumpstart Initiative, a business incubation hub. We have conducted one tax masterclass and have started working with 2 of their entrepreneurs. I am now working on partnering with the Ignite Hub which is run by BancABC. I am also working on collaborating with colleagues for a business masterclass which incorporates tax, design thinking, strategic management, etc.
In addition, I created a Founders space (mainly for entrepreneurs who just left or are still in formal employment) where we discuss ways of getting ahead as small businesses. Our first topic on building a team was worthwhile as we got to learn that a lot of founders would rather do the job themselves because they always do it better. But just like we show new joiners in the workplace how it’s done, the same concept can be adopted for our businesses.
Contributions
I have contributed to the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni experience through sitting as a panelist in the 4IR discussion during an alumni engagement session in Zimbabwe. I was also invited to the Harare US Embassy to speak on the current economic landscape and how entrepreneurs can excel in such an environment which was also an Alumni experience. Unfortunately, due to program clashes I couldn’t make it to this engagement.
I am an individual who makes time to share my knowledge and skills with colleagues, businesses and the community at large. I like to build mutually beneficial relationships for my growth and the benefit of the businesses and communities that I serve.
See you in America!
